Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall.....

Escape From the Boiler Room

Arista kept pestering me on the way to school. "You should have taken that boy's number at the coffee shop", she griped. "He was cute." I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah well, I've got a boyfriend that's even cuter so....." Arista was silent after that. I looked over at her. Why is she so eager for me to get involved with other guys? I was prepared to ask her, but I was in no mood to start another argument with her. I stopped by my school and finished my coffee in the car. "Well Arista", I say loudly. "You were right about this outfit. At least four guys hit on me today, and it's not even noon yet. I just hope Angel will approve." Arista scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Ugh, who cares what Angel thinks of you?", she says, clearly exasperated. I squint my eyes at her. "What is your deal Arista? What are you being so salty for?", I ask her. She doesn't look at me. "You're the one who insisted I wear this skanky outfit, and believe me, I didn't want to. But I did it to make you happy with me, and yet, you still have a problem with me. Well, I'm done. I don't know what else to do to make you satisfied with me. So I'll just stop trying, and you can stop trying to make me look like a prostitute. Okay?" I draped the oversized jacket over me, and stepped out of my car. "Are you coming, or are you gonna die of boredom in here? And yes, I realize how ironic that is. For you at least." Arista rolls her eyes and reluctantly floats inside my body. I sigh. What is her deal?

I locked my car and went over to Angel, who appeared to be waiting for me. He smiled when he saw me coming. "Hey babe", he greeted me, and gave me a kiss. "Hey, you wore my jacket today!", he says. I smile. "Yeah, I just really wanted to wear it today." He looks at me. "Are you sure you don't want to take it off? It's kind of warm today". he says, reaching for the zipper. I backed away. "Um, no. I'm actually feeling kind of cold. Haha, I must be anemic." I was totally lying. I wasn't anemic at all. I just didn't want Angel or any other guy in this school to see my outfit choice. Especially since so many guys had taken interest in me this morning. I walked inside on Angel's arm, and as always now, people stopped what they were doing to stare at us. Mm, it felt really good. I stopped by my locker and got my things for my first class when Heidi stopped by me.  "Hey", she said. "Hi", I said, and gave her a hug. "So, what are you trying to hide under that?", she says, pointing to my jacket. I stare her in amazement. "How did you know?", I ask. She laughs. "Anyone who wears a jacket that big obviously has something to hide", she says. I laugh. "Okay", I say. "Just hold still." I unzip the jacket and show her my skank outfit. "Wow", she says. "Is there a sudden fabric shortage at this school?" She chuckles. I laugh breathlessly. "Yeah, it was my mom's idea", I say. "Don't be offended, but did your mom used to be a stripper?", she says. I laugh harder. "No, she just thought I should try to make myself look nice you know, for Angel." Heidi nods. "Okay, don't get me wrong though, you look great, but it's just not...you", she says. I sigh. "I agree", I say. "So far at least four guys hit on me when I was wearing this. She throws her head back and laughs. "Oh my God really? Spill." So I told her everything that had happened that morning, and by the time I was done, we were both laughing like crazy. "Oh God, I can't believe you threatened that drunk dude with a butterfly knife and he was actually scared!", she said. "I know right?!", I say. "Truthfully I was more scared than he was!" And we laughed some more. "Hey, do you want to hang out at my place after school?", I asked her. "I heard we have a science project to work on in class anyway." She smiled. "Sure", she replied. "Discuss at lunch?" I nodded and shut my locker. "Sounds great, I'll see you later", I say, and walk to the bathroom before going to class.

I go in the bathroom with a single toilet and sink. Arista floats out of my body and settles on the sink. I shut the stall door. "So, Heidi is coming home with us?", she says, almost bitterly. But I ignore it. "Yeah, so make sure you stay in your mirror and behave yourself okay?", I tell her. "Why do I have to stay in my mirror?", she asks. "I'll be good." "Yeah I know you will", I say. "But I'd feel much better if you were in your mirror so nobody sees you." I flush and come out of the stall. "Why are you so concerned if somebody sees me?", Arista asks, her arms folded. "I mean, why are you really concerned?" I wash my hands at the sink. "Well, because I don't want you to get taken away from me", I say. "I don't want to lose one of my good friends." It wasn't entirely the truth, but I couldn't bear to tell her the real truth. Arista smiles. "Thanks", she says.